


edge of the unknown

by fruectose



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/M, i know where my story's going but do i know if im continuing it?, it might sound similar to the current situation with the pandemic though so be warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:02:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28606404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fruectose/pseuds/fruectose
Summary: percy meets a girl with answers to questions that only he is brave enough to ask, and running away is no longer an option. zombie apocalypse au
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	edge of the unknown

“Don’t move. Stay where you are and put your hands where I can see them.”

It was a girl’s voice, so commanding that Percy’s first reaction was to do as he was told without question. Lucky for him, his willpower and instinctual need to defy authority won over and he turned around slowly. Grover and Tyson set their guns down slowly and Percy readjusted his grip on his Glock and set his jaw.

The girl was about Percy’s age, and absolutely stunning. He couldn’t see himself, but if you told him his jaw had dropped, he wouldn’t be surprised. Her long, wavy blonde hair had been pulled into a ponytail. She wore a tight black top and skinny jeans to match under a leather jacket and combat boots- an important observation on Percy’s part because it only made her that much more attractive. Her eyes were light enough that they reflected off the lights in the museum. She stood with her back up straight with a ridiculously intense frown, one gun aimed at Grover’s forehead, the other levelled at Percy’s chest. You don’t have to say it. He knew that it was wrong of him to think in that moment that she was the woman of his dreams.

“Who are you?” She demanded.

“I’m Grover.” Grover stuttered, asif she was supposed to know them. “This is Tyson and Percy. _Please_ , for the love of god, do not kill us.”

There was a chuckle from behind the girl, and Percy craned his neck to see a blonde guy with a massive sword attached to his waist checking out one of the exhibits. Percy couldn’t see much of him, just his relaxed posture, like there _wasn’t_ a terrifying girl pointing two guns at three dudes at the Field Museum in Chicago.

“Come on, Annabeth. He said _please_.” He mocked without looking up.

Percy wanted to be angry with the guy, but he was mostly distracted by the name Annabeth. A princess might be named Annabeth. A damsel in distress, the pretty dead wife of a protagonist that no other woman could live up to, perhaps. There was _no way_ that the downright dangerous woman in front of him was an _Annabeth_.

Annabeth, if that was her real name, clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes at Tyson, Grover and Percy.

“Don’t get comfortable. I’m not as easily bought. What are you doing here?” Annabeth demanded.

“You’re very pretty.” Tyson observed. Annabeth scowled at him, and the guy behind her chuckled.

“Oh she sure is, big guy.” He said. Percy was inclined to agree with him and Tyson.

“What’s wrong with you?” She asked. “I’ve got a gun pointed at your friends.”

Tyson blushed and Percy scowled at her. “Is that how you generally speak to people?” He demanded. She could look like Margot Robbie (and in some light, maybe he _did_ see a slight resemblance), for all he cared, but Percy Jackson did _not_ tolerate disrespect.

Annabeth seemed a little surprised by his reaction, which gave him enough time to hold up his Glock, aiming it at her forehead. He had absolutely no ammunition, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Lower it or I will shoot.” She said calmly.

“Apologize to my friend or you’ll go to sleep with a hole in your head.” Percy told her, mirroring her tone.

“Okay, you know what, this is taking too long.” Annabeth’s friend said. He walked over to the group and Percy got a better look at him.

He was tall- maybe a couple inches taller than Percy and a full head taller than Annabeth- and lean. He wore a loose grey t-shirt and a pair of Bermuda shorts, a pair of sunglasses sitting on the top of his head. He looked like he’d walked off a casual vacation wear photoshoot. His hair was the same shade as Annabeth’s, sandy and tousled. Like Annabeth, Percy thought with some level of irritation, he had beautiful features. Sharp nose and bright blue eyes and a wicked grin. He looked about five years older than her, though, and Percy’s first guess was they were brother and sister. He had _no_ business feeling less threatened at the thought.

“What did you say your names were? Grover, Tyson and Peter?”

“Percy.” Grover corrected. The guy held his hand out and shook Grover’s hand.

“I’m Luke. This is Annabeth.” He said. “And if you don’t tell us why you’re here, we’ll assume you’re Titans and we’ll blow your heads off.”

“You think we’re _Titans_?” Percy asked. He snorted. “Why would you be concerned about some underground mafia gang at this point? I don’t know how to break this to you, but there are literal _zombies_ out there.”

He pointed to the window. Annabeth and Luke exchanged a look before both glaring at Percy. They _had_ to be related. They had eerily similar movements.

“You know about the Titans?” Annabeth asked lowly stepping closer to him. She got close enough that Percy could smell her scent. How did she have time to smell so good… was that vanilla? During the fucking _zombie apocalypse_? He hadn’t showered in two days!

“Only everybody in the state of New York knows about them.” He said, rolling his eyes.

“What do you know?” Annabeth demanded. Luke hovered behind her, like he was afraid she might pounce on Percy and he’d be tasked with pulling her off.

“What is it to you?” Percy asked her. He _really_ didn’t like this girl’s attitude. Pretty or not, she could afford some manners.

Annabeth turned to Luke and handed him her guns. He shot Percy an apologetic shrug and relieved her of her guns, leaving her completely defenseless in front of Percy, who’s gun was still pointed at her. He had enough time to appreciate how bold her move was and then, with one expert move, she knocked the gun right out of Percy’s hand, sending it clattering to the marble floor. Before he knew it, she had his arm pinned to his back, her knee digging into his sacrum.

“You’re joking.” Percy said flatly. He tried to wriggle out of her grip but the girl was stronger than she seemed. “Look, I don’t know what lunatic business you’ve got with New York’s biggest crime family, but it’s not got anything to do with us. We’re here trying to get- well, steal, really,” Percy paused for a moment and glanced at Luke to see if he was buying anything. “any weapons we can to protect ourselves from the fucking _zombies,_ you know, the ones that are out there, waiting to feast on our brains- something I highly recommend you guys do as well, by the way.” He added.

Annabeth let go of him with a frustrated sigh. “You from New York?” She asked. Percy nodded.

Then she scowled at him and stormed off. Luke watched after her with an almost fond smile. Then he turned his attention back onto Percy.

“Sorry about that.” He said.

“I’m sorry you have to put up with that.” Percy told him, making a face as he rubbed his wrist where Annabeth’s skin had burned into him. It wasn’t sore or anything, but he got the feeling it was only because she wasn’t actually trying to hurt him. Luke let out a small, husky laugh.

“Annabeth is… an acquired taste.” He said.

“Like anchovies.” Percy agreed. “I _hate_ anchovies.”

“Plenty of other fish in the sea, right?” Luke said mildly.

As a marine biologist, Percy appreciated that. Luke seemed fairly cool, even if he did almost let his friend kill Percy. There was a loud crash from the other room and Annabeth’s voice sounded, ‘fuck sake!’. Luke looked over in the direction of the sound and flexed his shoulder once.

“Right, that’s my cue.” He said. “The most honorable way to go in these times is being bitten by a zombie. Getting crushed by… whatever that was- _less_ honor.” He winked at Percy and bid Grover and Tyson farewell before jogging off towards where Annabeth presumably was.

Percy didn’t have the time to process what was going on when Annabeth marched back into the room, carrying a ton of old weapons. She had swords, knives, a couple baseball bats, some revolvers. Anything you could imagine, she had them. She dropped them at Percy’s feet.

“Pick your weapons, boys.” She announced. Percy narrowed his eyes at her. She shrugged. “I felt bad about our earlier misunderstanding. Think of this as an apology.”

“And savor it.” Luke added from behind her. “I’ve known her forever, and I’ve got an apology exactly _once_.”

“I wish you would just shut up sometimes, Castellan.” Annabeth told him. Last name, Percy thought. That would mean they weren’t related.

Luke walked over and draped his arm over her shoulders. She sunk into him, wrapping her arm around his waist, and Percy felt a pang of jealousy. Sure, he wasn’t her biggest fan, but she was cute, and Luke got _that_ , while the most action Percy had got in the last three weeks was when Grover accidentally grabbed his crotch while they fought off a horde of a zombies at a defunct subway station.

“You know what, I could really go for a scone.” Luke said with a yawn. “I think I spotted a sign to the café. Want to go see what we could get a hold of?”

“It’s been three weeks, Luke. Everything will be moldy.” Annabeth whined.

“I’ll go with you.” Percy volunteered. He was starving- they hadn’t eaten in over twenty hours. At this point, he didn’t really mind some mold.

Luke grinned. “Sweet. We’ll just meet you guys back up here in ten. See if we can’t whip up some coffee.”

“Oh, I’d like a coffee!” Grover said.

“Hot chocolate for me, please.” Tyson asked.

Annabeth and Luke exchanged one last look before Luke turned to Percy. He nodded at the pile of weapons.

“Pick one up. I can guarantee they will be more useful than that empty handgun you carry around.”

“You knew?”

“Annabeth’s great at calling bluffs.” Luke told him as Percy picked up a sword. It felt right in his hand. Not too heavy, not too light. It felt _right_. “Well, great at calling bluffs and taking stupid risks.” He glanced at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.

Percy and Luke chatted for a while as they walked through the museum. Percy found out that Luke’s family was from Connecticut, old money, he’d said- and that he ran away from home when he was ten, although he didn’t say why. He got put into foster care when he was fourteen, where he met a seven-year-old Annabeth, who’d also run away from home all the way in Virginia. They escaped foster care and had been inseparable since, he said. He told Percy that they’d moved to Cambridge together, where Annabeth went to Harvard, and Luke had joined a law firm. Annabeth had a job as an architect in Manhattan, and they hadn’t had the chance to work out a good living situation before things went wrong. He didn’t go into too many details about _what_ it was that went wrong, really, but Percy had a feeling he wasn’t just talking about the zombie apocalypse.

After they found the café, with pastries still stocked in the freezer and enough coffee beans to make them all a coffee, the boys got to work. Luke asked Percy about how he got to Chicago. So Percy told him about how the outbreak was all over the news by the time he found out. How he hadn’t made it home in time to save his mom or stepdad. Without them, he was alone- which was, in some grim sense, an advantage in these times. At least he had no baggage, right? Anyway, he met Grover, who was trying to get to San Francisco Bay to find his girlfriend, and they’d rescued Tyson somewhere in Pennsylvania, and here they were.

Luke listened intently, asking him about his life in college and his childhood as he expertly made some coffee. Annabeth used to be a barista at one of those hipster coffee shops when she was in college, he explained. She’d taught him how to make intricate art on flat whites. She was kind of picky, that way. She seemed like a handful, but Percy decided to keep that to himself.

“So where are you guys headed?” Percy asked. Everyone was trying to get out. Luke shrugged.

“Not sure. We’ve kind of been on a wild goose chase. Annabeth wants to head back north, but that’s too dangerous for us. I think we should get to Florida and get as far away from this country as we can, you know?”

“What then?” Percy asked. He liked imagining himself sailing off the California coast, his whole life ahead of him. He thought of the possibilities.

Luke was quiet for a moment. “I’d marry her.”

Half of Percy wanted to strangle the guy out of pure jealousy. Why did Percy not have someone to love, someone he wanted a future with? It didn’t seem fair. The other half of him wondered what Luke, who was so nice and easy-going, saw in someone as intense as Annabeth.

“Isn’t that romantic?” A voice behind them said. Faster than Percy could see, Luke whipped around, a handgun that seemingly came out of thin air drawn and pointing to the intruder.

Percy took in the guy. He was about Luke’s age and buff enough that Percy figured he could take both Luke and Percy out with his little finger. He was muscular and attractive, and wore an eyepatch and a scowl on his face.

“You going to _marry_ her?” He taunted Luke, whose breathing was even. He didn’t look particularly worried. The intruder spat on the floor. “Give us the slippery little bitch, Castellan, and it won’t be _all_ bad for you. We might even kill you first. You know, let her watch. I’d actually enjoy watching her cry over you.”

“Who are you?” Percy blurted. The eyepatch guy glowered at him.

“A better question would be who are _you_?” He asked. Then he turned to Luke. “New pet, Castellan?”

“Stay out of this.” Luke growled at Percy. The look on his face was downright lethal. Luke, Percy decided, made a good friend and a terrifying enemy. He stood back, a little because he didn’t want to anger his new friend and a little because he was too confused by what was going on.

“Where is she?” Eyepatch asked, looking around, like he expected Annabeth to pop out of the pantry with some freshly baked pastries. When it became apparent she wasn’t fetching them dessert, he sighed. “We’ll catch hold of her, sooner or later, Luke. And when we do… oh god, revenge will feel good.”

Luke’s grip on his gun tightened. His knuckles started to go pale, but his face didn’t betray any emotions.

“Choose your words carefully, Ethan.” He told Eyepatch.

“Oh, I’ll be fine. _You_ , on the other hand,” Ethan cooed. “Once we find her, and I promise you, we will… I look forward to watching that meddling bitch die a slow, _painful_ death-”

_Bang_!

“What the _fuck_? You shot me! Argh!” Ethan, the Eyepatch guy looked down at his arm where Luke had shot him. He crumpled to the ground, clutching his arm.

“Speak about her like that again, Nakamura.” Luke said, his voice steely and low. He landed a pretty painful looking kick and Nakamura grunted in pain. Luke’s mouth twisted when he looked at the guy, Ethan, with pure disdain. “And I’ll rip your fucking head off. And that goes for Old Man Kronos as well, pass the message along, will you?”

Ethan only groaned in response. Luke gave him a final kick in the ribs in farewell and walked calmly out of the café. He looked over his shoulder at Percy, who had to walk around Ethan Nakamura’s crumpled figure to catch up with him.

“How do you feel about Miami, Percy?” His voice was steady and quiet and Percy’s stomach churned uncomfortably. It didn’t feel much like a question at all.

“What?”

“It’s going to be a fun road trip.” Luke promised.

Luke led the way back to the hall, where Annabeth, Grover and Tyson were now sat, laughing about something. Annabeth, Percy realized, looked a lot different when she smiled. It seemed like all the light in the room was bending towards her.

“Annabeth.” Luke said. She looked over, and Percy watched the smile slowly slip off her face. She got to her feet and glanced at Percy, sizing him up like she was figuring out how to take him down without hurting Luke.

“We need to go. _Now_.” He said. Annabeth didn’t ask any questions, bending down to grab a couple revolvers, stuffing one into the holster around her waist and tossing the other to Luke, who caught it with practiced ease.

“Tyson, Grover,” Luke said calmly. “I’m sorry about this, but we’re cutting your vacation short. Grab some blades- a baseball bat, Tyson? Excellent choice- and we are going to have to get going.”

“Get going?” Grover asked, narrowing his eyes. He looked at Percy, asking a hundred questions. _Is this some trap? Are they going to kill us? Do we trust them_? But Percy had no answers. All he knew was Ethan Nakamura was quickly recovering from that gunshot wound, and seemed to be almost too keen on getting his hands on Annabeth.

Luke explained what had happened, although he didn’t say who exactly Ethan was. He just said Ethan worked for some _really_ powerful, bad guys and they were after Luke and, more desperately, Annabeth. Since Ethan had already seen Percy, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t be after him. And because Luke wasn’t sure if there were other people already surrounding the museum, he couldn’t say with certainty that Tyson and Grover were safe. They were going to have to make their way down to Miami and get out of the country- it was all too dangerous. Annabeth, who had remained quiet while Luke spoke, looked like she wanted to argue, but Luke silenced her with a pointed glare.

“But don’t be worried. It’s going to be alright.” Luke said. His tone made it clear he was plenty worried.

Grover and Tyson listened with large eyes filled with worry. Grover glanced at Annabeth with an expression of pity, but she scowled at the ground and he quickly looked away.

“So,” He said finally. “You two and the three of us now have to run away together?”

“There is another option.” Annabeth piped up.

“No, there _isn’t_.” Luke said with gritted teeth. The two of them glared at each other to see who would back down first. Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. “Tell them.” He said. “They’ll realize how insane your idea is.”

Annabeth reached into her back pocket and pulled out three vials of blood.

“This - it’s… the person this belonged to- she’d been bitten by the… infected.” It was the first time Percy had heard either her or Luke even acknowledge the infection. “Three times. And nothing. She wasn’t infected. There’s something in this blood that has the cure to the outbreak.”

“Where’d you get it from?” Percy asked.

“It took… a lot.” Annabeth and Luke exchanged glances. “These are the only vials of the blood. OlyTech Labs are the only ones that are still up and running and working on getting to the bottom of the outbreak. They’re in Maine, and I think we should go up there, except-”

“Except we _can’t_. People from Titan are all over New England, looking for us. Making the trek up there is like a death sentence.” Luke finished.

“But we can’t just leave America to die.” Annabeth insisted.

“And I can’t lose you!” Luke snapped. His eyes flashed dangerously and he bared his teeth at Annabeth. Percy’s muscles tensed. He’d been around his ex-stepdad long enough to sense the moments leading up to a bad turn of events. He expected Annabeth to shrink back, but Luke’s outburst only seemed to add fuel to the fire.

“If we don’t try, we’re going to lose a whole country.” Annabeth said calmly. “Luke, please.”

“No way. You don’t…” Luke glanced at Percy. “Those men at Titan… if they were to catch you, Annabeth, -”

His voice broke, and Percy understood why. He thought about the look on Ethan Nakamura’s face and his sickening words and he felt his stomach twist into a knot. Percy didn’t know Annabeth the way Luke did, but he definitely couldn’t in good conscience, leave her for Ethan Nakamura and whoever he worked with. They didn’t just want her, they wanted her to _suffer_. Annabeth looked like she was about to argue, but Percy cleared his throat.

“I think we should get out of here.” He said. “And maybe discuss this somewhere else.”

He looked over at Grover, who nodded, like he appreciated Percy’s words, even if he was pale and his eyes were wide as plates. Luke also seemed to like the idea, because picked up his sword and slid it back into his holster. Percy turned his blade in his hand nervously and let Luke lead them out. He fell into step with Grover, who’d picked managed to get some ammunition for his guns, a bow and a quiver of arrows. Percy wasn’t very sure how good Grover was with a bow and arrows, but he didn’t question it.

“I’m sorry I dragged us into this.” Percy said. Annabeth, who was walking with Tyson, looked over her shoulder and shot him a look he couldn’t read. Then she went back to her seemingly light conversation with Tyson. Percy liked that she was holding a conversation with the big guy. He wasn’t quite as clever as the others, but he had a heart of pure gold, and Percy was kind of glad he’d found a new friend.

“It was my idea to come into the museum for ammunition.” Grover said. “But I’m glad we did.”

“Grover,” Percy looked at his friend. Grover hated violence, even against zombies that were trying to eat your brains out. It seemed unreal that Grover was in any form okay with what was going on. They were suddenly supposed to abandon their own plans and flee the country from Miami- no more quest to find Juniper, like Grover wanted, no more sailing out of San Francisco Bay, like Percy had planned. It was all _Luke’s_ plan, now, he thought.

“No, I mean it.” Grover said. He dropped his voice to a whisper as they approached the exit to the museum. Luke was slowing down, and turned around to talk to both Annabeth and Tyson. He pointed in different directions like he was mapping out the best way to get out. “Percy, she’s got the closest thing we have to cure this outbreak. Juniper, I don’t know… We have to help.”

Percy looked at Grover and frowned. “You want to help?”

“Of course! We might be able to stop the infection, if not bring back the ones we’ve lost.”

“But they’re involved with the Titans, and I don’t know how I feel about a gang being after me…”

“Me neither.” Grover admitted. “But we have to try, right? I have this feeling they know more than they’re letting on. Why are the Titans after them?”

Percy hesitated. Luke had left out Ethan’s words about Annabeth, so Grover didn’t know just how _desperately_ they wanted Annabeth dead. He looked over to see Luke gesturing for them to catch up and turned to Grover

“I’ve got to tell you about what happened at the café.” He said. “But once we get somewhere safe.”


End file.
